Orecchiette with Squash, Chiles and Hazelnuts

This fall-inspired pasta dish is filled with sweet, spicy, and buttery delicious flavor.

Road trips, especially those where one ends up stuck on the New Jersey Turnpike Extension for an hour with little to no forward movement and a very narrow window of time in which one must traverse the 100+ miles between New York City and Wilmington, Delaware, require caffeinated beverages with all the frills.

And that, my friends, is how I lost my pumpkin spice latte virginity this weekend.

With Pink Floyd and/or Led Zeppelin and/or Elton John blasting in the background (the.boy’s road trip music of choice), I took that first naive, hopeful, expectant sip.

And it was good? Okay?

I don’t know. It’s probably my fault for building it up for this long. But the whole thing was a bit underwhelming. I think I’ll just stick to eating my fall flavors from now on.

Case in point. This here pasta is the first dish I’ve made this fall featuring butternut squash, and it was a mouthful. Of awesome.

Caramelized roasted squash tossed with nutty hazelnuts, a hint of spice, and cute little pasta ears. All in a buttery sauce. Without the butter.

What?!

Yes. It’s the real deal.

STAR Fine Foods sent me a bottle of their new Butter Flavored Olive Oil to try and it is perfect in dishes like this where you want that rich buttery flavor, but without all the saturated fat. This olive oil, which still contains all the health benefits of consuming regular olive oil, is kind of a win/win situation in that sense. And since we know we’ll all be eating our weight in pumpkin baked goods soon, it’s perhaps best if we save our butter allowance for those situations and leave our dinner sauces in the hands of the healthier fat.

Disclosure: While I received a bottle of STAR Fine Foods Butter Flavored Olive Oil for free, I was not given any sort of monetary compensation, and my thoughts and opinions on the product, as always, are my own.

This fall-inspired pasta dish is filled with sweet, spicy, and buttery delicious flavor.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

¼ cup hazelnuts

1 lb orecchiette

salt, to taste

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½" pieces

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

½ tsp red pepper flakes, divided

¼ cup unsalted butter or 4 tbsp butter-flavored olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

4 tbsp torn fresh mint

black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350. Spread the hazelnuts out on a baking sheet and let roast for about 5 minutes, tossing halfway. Let cool. Chop coarsely and set aside.

Set up the pasta water to boil and cook according to package directions, reserving a cup of water.

Toss the butternut squash with 2 tbsp olive oil, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender.

Heat the butter or butter-flavored olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add in the garlic and saute until just turning brown. Add in ½ cup cooking water. Stir and reduce until it forms a glossy sauce.

Toss together the pasta, squash, and sauce in a large bowl. Stir in the lemon juice, parmesan, half of the mint and the remaining red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I agree with you. Pumpkin spice lattes are good, but I’d also rather eat fresh, Fall foods. That orecchiette looks awesome! I love the combination of flavors you used. This is a must-try for sure. Being dairy-free and all, I’m also going to have to get my hands on some of that olive oil.

I couldnt resist and gave in to my pumpkin latte craving too this weekend that butter olive oil sounds great, I have been seeing it on couple other blogs too. WIll def keep that in my mind next time I am at the store. and that pasta- dont even.

I’m so ready to eat tons of fall pasta dishes like this! The butter-flavored olive oil sounds really good! I’m not a fan of the PSL either… but I did try the new chocolate chai tea latte and was pleasantly surprised. It has a nice kick to it.

You know I’m a big pumpkin fan – but the pumpkin drinks are starbucks are really just meh. In truth, they’re some of the best drinks starbucks makes, but that’s not saying much. Pumpkin lattes from other establishments might be a better way to go.

I love this dish. Another one to add to my growing list of new recipes to try for fall. I am addicted to mochas and lattes. Love them! I feel your pain about sitting in traffic. I do it here all the time on I-95 in Virginia. Worst traffic in the world. I travel the NJ Turnpike quite a bit since I have family on Long Island and love all the rest areas with the restaurants (even though it’s awful fast food), but there is a Starbucks!!!!

I agree with you about the PSLs. They’re good, but they’re not *that* good. Also, the fact that they show up in late August kind of bothers me. I am intrigued by all of the “make your own PSL syrup” pins on Pinterest.

Pumpkin latte on the new jersey turnpike sounds quite romantic to me – like a scene from a movie – but sorry to hear the reality is just not quite so glam – glad the squash came through for you with pasta – just proves food is always better at home

I’ve heard it’s a battle getting out of New York. It seems there’s always traffic at a standstill – at least that’s how the movies present it! I love the look of your pasta. A simple meal that everyone in this house would thoroughly enjoy xx

I can’t believe you’d never had a pumpkin spice latte! I can totally see how it would have been too built up to meet your expectations though. I like them but more for the fact that they symbolize fall than anything else! I do like roasted butternut squash more and this pasta looks awesome!

You were the one who finally got me to try butternut squash, but it’s been a while since I’ve had it (last November to be exact). This recipe kind of got me thinking about something weird, like a butternut and chile soup but I’m not sure about what type of chile. Maybe something mild like a charred poblano.

I love orecchetti. the combo of hazelnuts and pumpkin works for me. I see you have butter flavoured olive oil. Not sure about that!!! A friend of mine is in the US at the moment and sent me a picture of twitter of butter flavoured olive oil and we were amazed…..

You had me at “sweet, spicy, and buttery”! This dish looks so darned delicious, especially with those hazelnuts (which, in my opinion, should be in more dishes!) I agree with you on the pumpkin latte – no matter how tasty it is, I’d rather be chewing my winter squashes and veggies

Orecchiette pasta is one of my favorite pastas. I always think it’s weird to have a favorite pasta but it’s kinda all the same right?
This definitely has Fall time written all over it! Love, love, love.
Also, I just started to follow you on twitter.

This is gorgeous! I love the combination of flavors, and fall pastas are one of my weaknesses. Also, I like PSLs but find them to be kind of heavy on the flavor syrup. I have a homemade version that I prefer these days, but I still like getting one at the start of the season because it just feels like fall to me when I do.

I wonder if macadamia oil would have a similar effect? Also, I am a Starbucks addict but I am not big on the pumpkin lattes either. And last, our trip from Fez to the Sahara was in the car of a pan who had The Wall playing on a tv next to his head and it totally traumatized me so the boy’s music would have to go for me lol…. The noodles look totally yummy!